Question: What single business-related question should every young founder ask themselves tomorrow and why?

Question: What single business-related question should every young founder ask themselves tomorrow and why?

Have My Employees Signed Invention Assignment Agreements?

"Investors often primarily invest in the intellectual property of a company. They will insist that anyone who has done work for the company has signed an invention assignment agreement, making it clear that the work product belongs to the company. For most startups, it's the top legal priority."

What's My Exit Strategy?

"It may sound odd to ask about how you'll exit the business you're thinking about founding, but it's absolutely critical. It determines how you need to grow your business. If you expect to be out in five years, you'll need to do things quite differently than if you expect to be in that business for 20 years. Begin with the end in mind so you don't end up with no good end in sight."

Are We Systematizing?

"In startup mode, it's easy to go with the flow. But if you're going to achieve consistent results, you'll need to systematize and document your processes. Otherwise you won't know what worked and why. "

Am I Focused?

"The hardest thing about being an entrepreneur is maintaining focus. It is so easy to get caught up in more and more exciting ideas, from small features to entirely new products. However, if you can't focus on achieving your mission better than anyone else, then you'll never achieve your goals. Everything your startup does should follow a focused mission and work towards those goals."

Where Do I Want to Be in 10 Years?

"If you can start to visualize where you want to be ten years down the road, you can start to build backwards. You can build a straight line of tasks and projects that will guide you towards that goal. You'll have more clarity because you'll always be doing the tasks that lead to your long term goal. This provides great peace of mind and focus on what really matters to you."

Question: What single business-related question should every young founder ask themselves tomorrow and why?

Question: What single business-related question should every young founder ask themselves tomorrow and why?

Have My Employees Signed Invention Assignment Agreements?

"Investors often primarily invest in the intellectual property of a company. They will insist that anyone who has done work for the company has signed an invention assignment agreement, making it clear that the work product belongs to the company. For most startups, it's the top legal priority."

What's My Exit Strategy?

"It may sound odd to ask about how you'll exit the business you're thinking about founding, but it's absolutely critical. It determines how you need to grow your business. If you expect to be out in five years, you'll need to do things quite differently than if you expect to be in that business for 20 years. Begin with the end in mind so you don't end up with no good end in sight."

Are We Systematizing?

"In startup mode, it's easy to go with the flow. But if you're going to achieve consistent results, you'll need to systematize and document your processes. Otherwise you won't know what worked and why. "

Am I Focused?

"The hardest thing about being an entrepreneur is maintaining focus. It is so easy to get caught up in more and more exciting ideas, from small features to entirely new products. However, if you can't focus on achieving your mission better than anyone else, then you'll never achieve your goals. Everything your startup does should follow a focused mission and work towards those goals."

Where Do I Want to Be in 10 Years?

"If you can start to visualize where you want to be ten years down the road, you can start to build backwards. You can build a straight line of tasks and projects that will guide you towards that goal. You'll have more clarity because you'll always be doing the tasks that lead to your long term goal. This provides great peace of mind and focus on what really matters to you."